Community protests possible closure of South Man Elementary School

South Man Elementary School is one of the three facilities in Logan County on the possible chopping block as public school attendance declines by approximately 300 students per year

Community protests possible closure of South Man Elementary

Robert Fields | WVOW News

MAN Community members in Man were out Wednesday to voice their opposition against the proposed closures of school facilities across Logan County.

About 100 people attended a demonstration Wednesday night at South Man Elementary. The school is one of three being considered for closure before the 2027-28 school year.

After it was revealed that Logan County enrollment declined by about 312 students over the past year, South Man, Hugh Dingess and Justice elementary schools are being proposed for permanent closure. Logan County Schools Superintendent Dr. Sonya White said each of those facilities has had fewer than 100 students enrolled through the past four years.

“This is a seven-percent decrease from last year," White told state Board of Education Members last week. "People moving out of the area, school choice options and the Hope Scholarship are contributing factors to the drastic decrease in enrollment in recent years; however, enrollment has been slowly declining since approximately 2009."

Residents at the demonstration on Wednesday spoke about the importance of South Man Elementary as a central part of the community as well as its history dating back to the facility’s founding in the early 1950s.

Man Mayor John Fekete says waiting to find out the decision on the facility will be tough.

“The number one asset that we have is our children,” Fekete told WVOW News. “Anytime you hear something like this, it’s very sad. We do understand that our population continues to decline. You know, there’s other avenues for them to get to school. It affects the whole system when you start losing 350 students in the whole county. It’s about numbers."

No matter the outcome, however, Fekete says his town will stick together.

"If the decision stands, we will get through it. We’ll stick together and just try to make sure our kids get the best quality education they can get,” Fekete said.

WVOW's A.M. Stone contributed to this story.

PHOTO | South Man Pre-K 2022-23 - Facebook